Humour in Media Discourse Reflective of Social Problems

Abstract

Taking family disintegration as a metaphor, the researcher investigates social disintegration of the American and Pakistani society in particular and postmodern humans in general. Family animated sitcom; "The Simpsons” is taken as a case study to answer the research question. Reflections on five episodes of the sitcom are taken from 50 students of Masters in Health Professionals in Education (MHPE) in Lahore and analysed by the researcher. One episode of each season (28 seasons in all, so 28 episodes) is analysed by the researcher under the theoretical framework of McDonaldization. The results of the analysis of the reflections of students and the researcher's own analysis are conflated under the emerging themes. The emerging themes, amongst many others, in this series are; depressed and dissatisfied postmodern human beings, insanity, incompetence and dreams, consumer society and globalization, projected by humour.